Figure It All Out
by hailbob97
Summary: With a bet made, the feelings of a certain Lady Knight come to light and question by some . . . unexpected people. How will everyone react to the truth? And will the truth hurt more than those that aren't able to win her heart?
1. In Love With Who?

Three moderately soft taps on my door caused me to start and nearly drop the book I was reading. "Come in!" I called, dropping my feet to the floor from where they had been propped on my desk.

As I got to my feet Neal cracked the door open and slipped inside before closing it softly behind him, his eyes fixed on my face.

"Hello Neal," I greeted him, smiling as I got to my feet. As I took in his nervous expression my smile fell, my eyebrows coming together as I frowned in concern. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He blinked. "Wrong?" he said. "Nothing's wrong. Whatever would give you such an idea?"

I raised one eyebrow at him. "Nealan," I said warily, "I have known you for a decade now, if I don't know that expression on your face better than almost anyone obviously there is something seriously wrong with me. So, what is it this time?" I asked.

"Nothing!" Neal denied. "Nothing at all is wrong Kel."

Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "Neal. Cut the act and just tell me already!" I said. "I haven't seen you like this since you were a page fawning and lovesick over the newest beautiful court ladies. Wait." I paused, my eyes widening as a thought struck me. "Are you in 'love' again?"

"Kel!" Neal cried. "Stop it already! You're close enough that I might as well just tell you anyway." He sighed. "Fine," he said, his voice full of reluctance. "Yes, I think that I'm in love."

I grinned at him. "Congratulations!" I said. "So who is she this time? Is it Lady Marie? She's definitely the court beauty right now, and when I spoke with her last night she seemed nice enough, not to mention pretty smart as well . . ." I trailed off as he grimaced and flopped down on my bed, putting his head in his hands. "What?" I asked again.

Neal took a deep breath and straightened, shaking his head at me sadly. "No it's not Lady Marie, although I do agree that she is the court beauty of the moment. The lady I've fallen for has actually been a friend of mine for quite a while," he informed me.

"Oh?" I asked, sitting beside him. "Do I know her?"

He smiled sadly. "You could say that," he admitted, nodding as his emerald green eyes twinkled.

When he didn't go on I tilted my head to the side and waited. Nothing. "So, do you know if this friend of yours returns your feelings?" I asked.

"I don't know," he sighed. "That's the problem; I'm worried that she either doesn't like me that way—as more than just a friend I mean—or if she does that I'll end up doing something stupid and ruin any relationship we have as well as the easy friendship we have with one another."

I frowned and studied my best friend for a moment thoughtfully. My mind immediately went to all of my crushes over the years and I thought of what could have been if I had spoken up, I didn't want Neal to have to go through what I had. "I think that you should let her know how you feel," I told him finally. Before he could protest I hurried on. "Because," I said, "what if she does feel the same way, but you never tell her and you're both miserable and beat yourselves up over what could have been for the rest of your lives? I can definitely relate to that; I've had my fair share of those kinds of situations," I added softly.

Neal shot me a look, hearing my last statement. "What do you mean?" he asked, his forehead crinkling in a frown, his eyes troubled.

Shrugging, I said, "Over the years I've had my fair share of crushes as well, but I never said a word because I was afraid of what might happen. I don't want that to happen to you Neal, no one deserves to beat themselves up over fickle feelings the way I have," I added, laughing shortly.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Who were these crushes of yours?" he asked suspiciously.

Another shrug. "Eh, well . . ." I trailed off, feeling my cheeks warm as I flushed a light pink.

Neal's eyes widened when he saw my blush and a slow smile spread over his lips. "Alright Kel," he said, grinning. "Now you just _have_ to tell me!"

I coughed nervously. "Well, when I was a squire I had a crush on Dom," I admitted, the blush on my cheeks darkening slightly.

"Really? As in my cousin Dom?" he asked, sounding shocked. "Do you still like him?"

"Not like that," I replied quickly, shaking my head. "Not anymore."

He nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Who else?"

"Er." I shifted awkwardly on the bed, looking at my hands, folded in my lap, as my blush darkened even more. "When we were pages I," I paused nervously, closing my eyes as I tried to build up my courage.

"Who?" Neal whispered.

I opened my eyes to find his face mere inches from my own, his eyes wide and intense as they fixed on mine with an emotion I couldn't identify.

Swallowing hard, my eyes locked on his I mustered my courage to murmur, "When we were pages I had a crush on you Neal. But I figured it was stupid, you would never think of me that way, so I forced myself to get over you." I smiled wirily. "I never planned to tell you that," I admitted. "Or, at least not until you had gotten married or sommat."

He stared at me. "Are you serious?" he asked me.

I chuckled. "Yes Neal," I said. "I am serious. Now, I told you about my crushes, it's your turn to tell me who your newest crush is."

Neal looked away from me finally, blushing. "Oh, um, well I don't know Kel," he said.

"Come on Neal," I sighed. "Do we really have to go through this?" I reached out and put my hand to his jaw, turning his head so he was forced to look at me. "Come on," I coaxed, smiling softly at him.

He sighed. "Did you say before that I should just tell the girl how I felt?" he asked hesitantly. "Just say it and hope for the best?"

I nodded, slightly puzzled and a little frustrated that he had changed the subject. "Not quite in those words, but that's the gist of it, yes," I replied.

"Okay." He took a deep breath and our eyes met again. "Kel, I . . . I've got a crush on you," he said, blushing, but still looking me in the eyes as he continued to speak. "I've actually had a bit of a crush on you for years, but have been too afraid to say anything because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. But, recently I came to the conclusion that I either had to tell you soon or get over you . . ." he trailed off.

For a moment I just sat there staring at him in complete silence, my jaw having dropped long before he finished speaking. "You what?" I finally whispered, my voice cracking even at that low of a volume.


	2. Big Mouth

_For a moment I just sat there staring at him in complete silence, my jaw having dropped long before he finished speaking. "You what?" I finally whispered, my voice cracking even at that low of a volume._

Neal swallowed hard, looking pained as he slowly and awkwardly got to his feet. "I—I'm sorry Kel," he said, his voice hoarse. He shook his head and made to go to the door. "I should have known that you wouldn't feel the same way. Actually, I kind of did, but I figured that I'd just tell you how I feel and see how you react—"

"Neal," I said, cutting him off. I got to my feet and walked over to where he was standing, stopping directly in front of him I looked up into his face. "You always seem to jump immediately to a conclusion, you know, even if it is the _wrong_ one. Really, Nealan, you didn't give me a chance to respond in any way other than complete shock. And I _was_ shocked, just for the record. If the person you've had a crush on tells you that they like you in a—a more than just friendly way I think that you would be shocked as well."

"So, how _do_ you feel then?" Neal asked, his voice still slightly rough, but there was a new light in his eyes as they rose to mine—maybe hope?

I pursed my lips slightly as I thought. "To be perfectly honest Neal," I said slowly, "I don't know _how_ I feel. I've put quite a bit of time into getting over you, so much so that I think I had myself almost convinced that I was."

Neal looked down and away, biting his bottom lip. "Does that mean no then?" he asked dully.

"No, Neal, look at me." I gently slid two fingers under his chin and turned his head. "I said that _I don't know how I feel_. One reason that I never wanted to say anything about how I felt was that I didn't want my feelings to drive a wedge between us. You're my best friend and I never want to lose that."

"I probably should have thought about that before saying anything," Neal said ruefully. "Or just thought talking to you through at all really."

"Just a spur of the moment thing then?" I asked jokingly, giving him a crooked smile.

He looked uncomfortable. "Kind of," he admitted, blushing. "But it was either this or go insane not knowing."

"Really?"

"Yep." Neal seemed to slowly be relaxing—not a lot, but more than before. He reached up and grabbed my hand that I hadn't noticed was still beneath his chin, drawing it down and twining his fingers with mine as our eyes locked, emerald green meeting hazel.

As he took a hesitant step closer I was struck with a thought—not a good one, but a thought all the same. "Neal is this a—"

"Hey Meathead!" a familiar, muffled voice yelled out in the hallway a little way off. "Where are you?"

Neal scowled. "All of you have corrupted by that cousin of mine," he complained.

I smiled wickedly. "Hey, at least Dom calls you 'Sir' Meathead," I reminded him. "And at times you have to admit that it's a very fitting nickname," I added.

"Not you too!" Neal cried.

The door suddenly burst open and our friends Faleron of King's Reach, Merric of Hollyrose, Prince Roald, and Owen of Jesslaw stumbled inside.

"There you are Queenscove," Merric said. "You just took off, but we still need to get some things straightened out before—"

"Before what?" I asked suspiciously, raising one eyebrow at them.

"Before they start in on trying to win their bet," Owen explained. "But Sir Meathead there took off before they could get things fully worked out."

My suspicion increased at this. I looked at Neal out of the corner of my eyes and slowly withdrew my hand, taking a step backwards at the same time. "What are you lot betting on this time?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light despite having a pretty good idea what it was.

"Who could get you to fall in love with them first," Owen blurted out.

"OWEN!" the other four yelled together.

He jumped. "What?"

"She's right there—and actually was the one to ask you the question in the first place—why would you tell her?" Roald asked, glaring at their younger friend in a way that was very unlike him.

Owen looked down at his boots, blushing in shame.

"You know," I said when everyone had been silent for a couple of moments, "I actually was thinking along those lines when Meathead here brought up crushes. I can't say that I was surprised honestly, just a little disappointed, I thought that you guys would have known better than to think I wouldn't notice if all of my friends started acting differently." I sighed, then rounded on Neal, poking a finger at his chest as I took a step forward. "And if you tell anyone, _anyone_, what I said before I will be forced to personally kill you. Got it?"

His eyes went wide with fear and he nodded mutely.

"Good," I said, nodding. "Now—"

"Kel!" Sergeant Domitan of Masbolle appeared in the open doorway, out of breath. "Raoul said to come find you and tell you that Third Company is moving out in an hour and he wants you with us," he said. "We're going north to hunt down some bandits, so be ready for a bit of a chase," he added.

I nodded. "Thank you Dom, I'll be out in a couple of minutes, you go ahead."

"Alright." Dom nodded and left at a jog for the King's Own's barracks.

"Okay you lot," I said, herding them to the door. "Out. I need to change and get ready to head out, and if you wouldn't mind I'd prefer to do that on my own."

Neal lingered in the doorway as the others walked off in silence. "Kel, I didn't—"

"Neal, I've only got an hour," I reminded him. "But if we must we'll talk when I get back, alright?"

"Alright, but, Kel, I didn't say what I did because of the bet," Neal said. "The bet was just what got me _to_ say it; I couldn't just let all of our friends try to get you to fall in love with them while I really do have feelings for you."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Oh?"

"Yes! I've had feelings for you for years, but have been too afraid to say anything because I was afraid that exactly this would happen. Why do you think I was always going on and on about the beautiful court ladies over the years?" he asked.

I leaned against the doorframe and sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and pointer finger. "I don't know," I sighed, letting my hand fall back to my side. "Why?"

"Because I was trying to get my mind away from how I felt about you, get my mind off of the fact that I was sure you wouldn't feel the same way. I was never seriously lovestruck like everyone thought, I was just fighting my feelings."

"Are you serious?" I asked, frowning.

"Of course I'm serious Kel," Neal replied. "And I know that it's hard to believe that this isn't just a joke or a lie so that I could win the bet with Roald, Fal, and Merric, but one thing that we all agreed on before even thinking about making that bet was that we all really did have feelings for you, this was just going to give us the opportunity to let you know we all feel."

I blinked at him. "Did you just tell me that four of my best friends have got romantic feelings for me?" I asked skeptically.

Neal coughed. "Well, we're only the four that made the bet, I know of at least three others as well," he admitted. "Maybe some others, but three that I'm positive of."

Closing my eyes and rubbing them tiredly I mumbled, "Life has just gotten a whole lot more complicated." I looked up at Neal suddenly. "Who are the other three?"

"Er, Dom, Wolset and Lerant," he said, nervously shifting from one foot to the other.

"What?" I stared at him for a moment, frozen in place. "Why is that I find all of this out when I've almost gotten over my own feelings for you people?" I groaned.

Neal shrugged, smiling. "Who knows?"

"Alright," I sighed. "Well, I really do need to get ready to go, but we _are_ going to talk when I get back."

"Sure thing Kel," he said cheerfully. "And please, don't go repeating the time you chased bandits early on in your squire years, okay? We don't need you getting injured by any centaurs or sucked into caring for any baby griffins."

"Don't I know it," I muttered under my breath. "But I'll try not to repeat that, things are complicated enough already without baby griffins in the mix."

"Good." Neal nodded, then turned and wandered off down the hallway.


	3. Tell You Tell Me

_Neal's POV_

"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot," I muttered under my breath as I walked down the hall away from Kel's room. "I am such an _idiot_! What was I thinking telling her that I've got feelings for her? It's not like she would have really believed me anyways, but now because of that stupid bet she definitely won't! Why did I get involved with that bet anyway? What possessed me?"

"What possessed you to do what Sir Meathead?" Dom asked, joining me as I walked down the hall—in the direction of the Own's stables and barracks I now realized—with a couple of bags over his shoulders.

"What?" I asked, blinking at him.

Dom rolled his eyes. "What were you possessed to do, O brilliant cousin of mine?"

My eyes widened fractionally as I realized that he had heard me and I wondered if he had heard anything else. "Oh, nothing," I replied, trying to seen at ease.

"Right," Dom said sarcastically. "Well, if that was just nothing then I suppose that I can ask what you were doing in Kel's room? You know, just out of curiosity," he added.

I shrugged. "Just talking about a bet Roald, Merric, Faleron made earlier," I replied.

"Oh really? Because if I heard correctly about your little bet then—"

"YOU HEARD WHAT OUR BET WAS ABOUT?" I demanded in panic.

Dom smirked. "Maybe," he said. So please go ahead and explain what happened for me, I'd like to hear the whole story."

I narrowed my eyes at my most annoying cousin—who coincidentally happened to be my favorite although I would never admit to that being the truth. "Did you really hear what our bet was about?" I asked, suddenly suspicious. "Or are you just trying to get out of me what it was about?"

"No, I heard Owen loud and clear," Dom replied, grinning evilly. "Something about making a bet to see which of you could get our darling Protector to fall in love with you I believe?"

"Seriously?" I groaned. "Why couldn't you have been polite and normal and just barged in without eavesdropping? But no, you had to go and fall for Kel just like the rest of us!"

Immediately Dom closed himself off, the grin dropping and his face immediately going blank—a trick he'd picked up from Kel after seeing her closing off her emotions whenever whoever she was talking to hit too close to home for comfort. "I don't know what you are talking about," Dom said, his voice dull.

I snorted and rolled my eyes at him. "Give up the act Dom," I said. "Roald, Merric, Fal and I have all admitted our feelings—to each other at least—why can't you do the same? I mean, it is pretty obvious how you feel so, why not?" I paused, then added thoughtfully, "Although I suppose I could say the same of a couple of your men."

Dom stopped short, grabbing my arm and dragging me to a halt as well. His eyes were wide as he looked at me and asked, "Which of my men has got feelings for Kel?"

"Er, well, see I'm only positive about two of them, but I'm sure there are others and that if you'd just—"

"Meathead just spit it out already!" Dom exclaimed.

"I only know of Lerant and Wolset at the moment but if you give me a couple more days with them the others I'm sure that I could find some more," I babbled.

"Meathead, would it kill you to just stop talking for a moment?" Dom sighed.

"Yes," I replied automatically.

Dom grinned—but it wasn't his usual carefree, energetic smile, more of a shell. "That was a pretty stupid question wasn't it?" he asked, looking somewhat sheepish.

I shrugged and started walking again. "Of course it was!" I replied, sniffing and looking at him in a superior manner. "Who do you think I am?"

"I am _not_ even going to go into that," Dom said firmly. He quickly went back to the subject of Kel. "So, what makes you think that Wolset, Lerant and I have got feelings for the Lady Knight?" he asked.

"Because it's _obvious_," I drawled. "I mean, every time you see her there is just this look in your eyes—yours in particular—that just screams that you're in love with her. You may be able to deceive most others and possibly even yourself, but I will always be able to read you. If I can't do, then who can?" I added.

"Good, point," Dom added absently. "Who can indeed."

"Er . . . right," I said, taking in his far-off expression and the glazed over look in his eyes.

We walked in silence for a few moments before walking outside and to the Own's stables.

"Well," I said. "Looks like it's your stop."

Dom blinked, noticing for the first time that we'd stopped and _where_ we had stopped. "Oh," he said. "Right. Well, thanks for talking with me Meathead. You've unfortunately left me with a lot more on my mind than I started out with and quite a few more questions than answers. As well as the knowledge that I'm apparently vying for the love and attention of a woman who's got quite the following of other young men," he added.

"No kidding," I sighed, running my fingers through my hair restlessly.

"Should be interesting to see what happens know that she apparently knows how we all feel," Dom said, giving me a sidelong look. "Or if she even acts any differently at all. Who knows? But, I for one know this my dear Meathead: I'm going to be a putting a lot more effort into trying to win Kel's heart—not that she's something to be won, but I honestly don't know what to expect from you people. I mean, the _prince_ has fallen for her too? Not to mention and her best friends and quite a few of her other friends as well."

He shook his head and walked into the stables leaving me feeling fairly . . . worried I suppose. Worried seemed like a good word for how I felt now that Dom had opened up for me the fact there were others out to win my best friend's heart.

As I turned to walked back to the palace I groaned and mumbled to myself, "Gods, what have we all gotten ourselves into now?"

I just wish that I knew.

* * *

><p><strong>AN *Coughs* Er, so, what do you think? I'm sorry that it took so long to get this up, but seeing as I am writing this as it comes to me and I don't really know where I'm going with it, which might be a bad thing I think, I had to go through all of the different third chapter's I've written and decide which one I wanted to use, find the one that felt right for what I'm thinking that I want to happen next. And this was it.**

**That being said I'm sorry that this probably isn't the best chapter, but I kind of wrote it between 12am and 3ish so . . . I apologize. But it was either write the chapter in the small hours of the morning or not at all lately and just do my best (although for some reason I write my best at around 2am, athough this isn't my best example of that . . .).**

**I will try to get the next chapter up faster than I did this one, but I've been slightly stressed and busy so . . . no, no excuse, I'll just get it up. I might already have it partially written even! **

**With that please review! Please? Thank you! :)**


	4. Best Man

_Dom's POV_

We had just stopped to set up camp after riding all day and it was nearly sunset. _Where has the day gone? _I wondered. For the entire ride I had ridden beside Kel, chatting, teasing, and flirting as always. The entire time I had wondered whether Neal had told her how I felt before leaving and if it would make her act any differently towards me.

So far she was acting the same as always, but it was hard to tell when she could naturally hide her emotions _so well_ and _so easily_. For all I knew she could be completely repulsed by the idea that I had more than just friendly or brotherly feelings towards her. _Or_ she could be jumping for joy at the idea, but unsure whether Neal was telling the truth and unwilling to risk our friendship in trying to find out the truth.

Then again he could have told her and she could just be feeling nothing at all about it and nothing would change between us.

I sighed and unsaddled my mare before wandering off to set up my tent, thinking of the years when she was a squire and those times when I had noticed the discrete looks she would send my way or the way she reacted whenever I was around, the little stutters and nervous shifting when she thought that she might have slipped up.

It had, amazingly enough, taken me nearly a year to realize just what was going on with her, to realize that Kel had a crush on me.

In some ways this was very satisfying and it was almost flattering that the lady squire had a crush on me. But I didn't feel the same way towards her, so I decided to say and do nothing about it.

There had been small reminders that she still held those feelings for me, but then Kennan came along. Just thinking about the red-headed oaf made me grind my teeth in anger and my blood boil.

How _dare_ he steal my Kel away from me? When that thought popped into my head I had realized with a start that I had just fallen into a trap I had laid oh so perfectly for myself. I was falling for this girl who had, unknowingly to both myself and her, turned my world as I knew it upside down.

Where in the world did it come from? I was the court's most eligible bachelor; I was a player who fell for the court beauties with the beautiful gowns and small, full figures! And here I had been telling myself over and over every time I saw her that I didn't feel the same way, that we could only ever be friends—good friends of course, but just friends all the same.

Now, here I was, lying in my tent with my face buried in my bedroll thinking back on these times and knowing that I had had my chance—numerous chances actually—and had blown them all. Even with Kennan out of the picture now I had Prince Roald, Sirs Merric and Faleron, and my own cousin to compete with for her attentions!

What's worse is that I knew that we all had even chances of Kel liking us. After Kennan she hadn't shown any preferences towards having feelings for anyone in particular, and the little glances Kel used to sneak my way no longer came—and they hadn't come for a long time now.

Did I stand any chance at all with her?

_Wait_, I thought. _Why am I lying in here moping? She's not ten feet away from me right now, I should go talk to her! At least to—_

"Dom?"

The voice came from just outside my tent, jolting me immediately to my feet. That was the voice I had been wanting to hear, the voice that made my heart pound and leap to my throat with anticipation.

I stepped out of my tent, letting my eyes adjust to the change of light before searching her out eagerly while trying to keep up my calm and aloof front.

There.

"Hi Kel," I said casually, thanking the gods that my voice came out normally and praying that it would continue to do so.

"Hey Dom," she said, smiling at me. "I just came to find you, seeing as you didn't come to dinner and all."

I blinked, my mind blank. Dinner? Already? _Wow, it must be later than I thought_, I thought in surprise. I focused back on Kel, coming up with an answer that wouldn't make me sound like an idiot. "I must have dozed off," I told her, smiling sheepishly. That was somewhat true: I had gone off into my thoughts of her, dozing in the process. "I didn't realize how late it was," I added.

She laughed easily. "Well, we were riding all day so I can understand how you might be tired and not fully functional," she said jokingly.

"I wasn't tired exactly," I said. "More like I was thinking and just didn't realize that I'd drifted off into my thoughts for a while."

"Oh," she said. "Must have been some pretty deep thoughts then, to make our wonderful sergeant zone out like that, huh?" Her eyes twinkled teasingly when she said this and I could see her fighting back a grin.

I nodded solemnly. "Very deep thoughts indeed," I said seriously.

"Might I ask about what?" she asked.

It was my turn to grin while inwardly I was panicking. What would she do or say if I told her what I had been thinking about? "Of course you can ask, but it doesn't mean that I'll answer you," I replied teasingly.

She raised one eyebrow in question but remained silent, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her breeches as she settled into a relaxed position, waiting.

"Fine," I sighed, trying to appear relaxed and not like I was about to have a panic attack at any moment. Although if I did I wouldn't have to tell her . . . "I was going to come and talk to you about it later anyway, so I might as well do it now . . ." I trailed off nervously, not sure exactly how to go on.

Kel waited for a moment to see if I was going to go on. Finally she gave up on waiting and gently prompted with a soft, reassuring smile, "Talk to me about . . . ?"

I took a deep breath through my nose and slowly let it out. "Um, well," I began, wincing internally at my oh so less than eloquent choice of words to begin pouring my heart out. I sighed, where was the usual teasing and flirtatious Dom that could spin out compliments and endearments like no one else when I actually needed him to come out? "Kel," I said. "I know that my cousin . . . has probably gone and been the meathead that he is and told you this already, but I feel that I need to come out and tell you myself to clear things up."

She frowned at my rambling. "What exactly is it that Neal is supposed to have told me?" she asked, confused.

"ThatIhavefeelingsforyouKel," I said quickly, the words slurring together in the my nervous hurry. At the look of obvious confusion on her face I mentally shook myself to calm my nerves and said, more calmly and slowly this time, "Kel, I realize that this might be too little too late, but I need to tell you myself that I have feelings for-more than just friendly feelings I mean. And this isn't like my fickle loves for the court beauties of the past, those were all based purely on lust, but I have true feelings for you Kel."

The entire time I had been pouring my heart out I had done my best to keep my head down so that I wouldn't have to see either the blank look on her face as she closed off her emotions or the possible shock and repulsion that might be there. Finally I looked up and just like I had feared her face was blank of all emotion despite the widening of her eyes that revealed her shock.

"Kel?" I asked hesitantly when she made no move to respond in any way. Suddenly something occurred to me that made the blood freeze in my veins. "Kel, Neal never told you any of that . . . did he?"

"Yes, but I wasn't sure if he was speaking the truth or not," she murmured. "He was telling me that he and a number of my other friends had feelings for me and included you, but I assumed that it was joke. That cousinly rivalry type situation," she added.

"Oh," I breathed. "Well, that explains things then." Nervously I cleared my throat, wincing and lowering my eyes to the ground as I waited for Kel to say something, to say anything.

"Dom," Kel finally said, making me look back up at her. "I . . . I really am not sure what to say. I, um, appreciate I suppose your affection towards me, but I'm not sure that I return the feelings. I did at one point as I'm almost positive that you know by now, but when you showed no signs of returning my feelings in the past I tried to get past them."

I coughed uncomfortably in disappointment. "Oh," I said. "Well, I guess that I lost my chance then. I hope that whoever catches your eye now can return your affections when I could not-"

"Wait," Kel interrupted. "I never said that I don't return your feelings, because honestly I never fully got past how I feel about you, I'm just not sure right now. So much has happened that is going round in my mind right now that I just need a while to try to figure things out." Gently she took one of my hands in her own and squeezed it gently, giving me a small smile. "I don't want anything to change for the bad between us if things end up not working out though Dom," she said. "I couldn't stand knowing that our friendship had been ruined on grounds like this, you're one of my best and closest friends after all."

Clearing the lump that had formed in my throat knowing now that my chances weren't completely destroyed I nodded. "Alright, well, I guess that I'll just have to try to convince you that I'd be the best man for you then," I said with a slightly unsure grin, nowhere near my usual confident smile.

Kel laughed lightly. "As if things weren't busy and interesting enough with the lot of you around now I'll have to deal with this as well?" she joked.

I nodded, grinning easier and more confidently now. "May the best man win your heart whoever he may be, Lady Knight," I said seriously, but still with a bright light to my eyes now that I knew I had a chance.

Wishing each other a good night we both went back to our tents.

"May the best man win," I repeated to myself, my mind already working at ways to win my lady's heart.

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><p><strong>AN Hello! What did you think? _Quickly g__ets down to grovel on knees for forgiveness. _I wrote a new chapter! And figured out a way to trick my laptop into allowing me to actually post it! It took a while . . . yes. Sorry? Please don't hurt me?  
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**I'm probably going to be editing what I've written so far, so nobody panic when and if things change, alright? I hope that you liked this chapter, did it ramble too much? I feel like it might have, but that's what I get for writing and posting while I'm sick and haven't slept in 3 days I suppose.**

**Oh! Also, I kind of lost the thread of the story with how I originally planned things, so please tell me who you all think that Kel should end up with. There is a poll up on my profile is you're interested, mostly for curiosity's sake, but also to kind of help guide me. I'm pretty sure that I know who Kel is going to end up with, but I'm a bit on the fence about it. If you want to wait until Fal, Roald and the others come back in more-hopefully next chapter-to give your opinion then that's alright too.  
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**1/13 Thank you sirladysami for pointing that out, it completely slipped my mind, but I fixed it-I hope. :)  
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	5. Under The Light Of The Moon

I stood at the edge of the clearing we had stopped to make camp in for the night, not wanting to continue on in the forest in the dark for fear of being turned around and getting lost. No matter how good we were at tracking, even the best could end up turned around and confused in the absolute darkness of the forest at night with only a sliver of the moon to light the way. Standing there I looked up at the sky, trying to relax and try to make a decision. A large hand settled gently on my hip. "What are you thinking about?" the person murmured in my ear, resting their chin on my shoulder.

I shook my head, turning to look at him with a small smile. "Nothing important," I replied.

"That can't be true, everything you think is important," he shot back.

"Oh?"

"Of course." He nodded. "So tell me," he insisted. "What were you thinking about so seriously?"

For a few moments I was silent, wondering how to put what I was thinking in a way he would understand. "I am afraid to tell everyone that I have already fallen for someone," I finally said. "Will it seem as if I was leading everyone on? Will they think badly of me that I was already leaning toward feelings for someone and then played coy, telling them that I was unsure? I didn't want to hurt anyone, but it seems as if there will be little choice for me in that matter. I just wish that things would be simple and turn out well for everyone in the end." I sighed in frustration sagging back against his large chest that was pressed against my back. "What should I do?" I mumbled, letting my eyes fall shut.

I felt him sigh deeply as he wrapped well muscled arms around my waist, holding me gently, but securely against his chest. "Maybe it would be best to just tell them all the truth and let things happen as they will," he said carefully, his voice thoughtful. "There is a part of me that wishes to lie and pretend that we aren't yet together and pretend that we are gradually growing closer to not upset them, but the majority of me disagrees and wants to speak out about the truth. Maybe we did grow together quickly, but we had feelings for one another before and only recently did we find out about how the other felt." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "Maybe . . . this may seem tacky, but maybe we were just meant to be. I hope that the others will see it that way, and not judge us too harshly, but I can only hope for the best."

"Hmm," I hummed thoughtfully. "I think you're right. And while that did sound very tacky and flowery, you have always been that way, but I don't mind." I stopped for a moment, nervously biting my lower lip, an realizing subconsciously how out of character that action was. "I agree that we should tell them though. I don't want to lead anyone on now that I know your return my feelings, I can only hope that the others will all be happy for us and not angry or hateful . . . Of all the things I can imagine to be torturous, being hate by my friends, the people I see as my family is probably the worst." I looked down, covering his larger hands with my own.

He twined our fingers together, squeezing gently. "It will be alright Kel," he said softly. "They won't hate you-us. They may be upset that they were not the ones to win your heart, but that is just the way it is. I don't regret my feelings, and I hope that you don't either, so as long as we are happy and content, they should have no real problem. If they love you, then they should just be happy that you are happy, not angry that you found happiness with someone else."

"Thank you," I whispered, smiling up at him, the light of the moon reflecting off of his eyes and disguising their color with it's own bright silvery white.

He shrugged, trying to appear humble but he could not disguise the slight smugness he held at being able to both win my heart, and help me decide how to tell the others that I had come to a decision, hopefully without hurting anyone too badly.

Only time would tell how the others would react. I would see them all in the morning and, if we were not forced into action or separated, I would tell them as soon as we were all together. If we were forced apart . . . I would have to think of something else, but only if it came right down to it.

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><p><strong>I know that this is short, yes. I also know that this is vague. Both of which I do apologize for, but in light of the circumstances I think a short, vague, but incredibly foreshadowing chapter was called for. While I do want to apologize for taking so long to update I will just give a few weak excuses in the hopes I will be forgiven. Please don't be mad?<strong>

**#1 I was asked to help direct a musical in January and February which took up a good chunk of the time I would usually use for writing. On the bright side the musical was amazing and funny and I enjoyed every moment of helping out with it.**

**#2 Suddenly I am beginning to get college info in the mail from all over the place and am stressing about it a bit . . . okay, that's a lie, I'm stressing a lot. I'm only a sophomore! Stress is not good for me. Deadlines I can do, when I'm working to a deadline I do some of my best work, but worrying about college already is messing with me.**

**#3 I'm not proud of it, but I must admit, I started writing something else. It's not a fanfic, but it IS something that I'm kind of proud of. It's nowhere near ready to put up or let anyone read, but if anyone is interested . . . please let me know. I tend to write more when I get feedback.**

**I also lose inspiration if no one tells me what they're interested in reading. Like if I was told that everyone wanted me to write a tragedy with an exciting plot and crazy random twist at the end, I could do that. Believe me, my English teacher always wonders what is going on in my brain with the things I come up with. I can't wait to take a creative writing class and see what THAT teacher thinks! Ha!**

**Anyway. I lot inspiration for a while, but had an epiphany about an hour ago and, well, THIS happened.**

**I won't get anyone's hopes up about when I'll update because I never seem to get the date right, BUT.**

**Please review! Please? Feedback helps me a ton, and any comments you have, no matter what they may be will help me to write better (I hope).**

**Oh! And try to guess who the man is in this chapter, you may be surprised . . . *cackles evilly***

**Actually some of you will probably guess who it is, but who knows? The way my brain works and the fact that it's so late might make it look obvious to me, but too vague for anyone else.**

**P.S. Thank you to everyone who ask favorited and followed this story! I feel awful that it's not as good as it could be and that I update so oddly, but I think I have a plan now . . .**


	6. And Though I Wish

"If I could say this any other way than bluntly to make it better than I would, however, I think putting it bluntly will be for the best," I said, pacing back and forth nervously in front of the men sitting down or leaning against the trees off to my side.

"Kel," Neal said, stopping my pacing. I looked at him as he continued a bit unsurely, his green eyes showing his obvious concern at my dramatic change in personality, "Just calm down Kel, I've never seen you this agitated . . . or emotional really, before. Please just take a deep breath, calm down, and go on with what you wanted to tell us all."

I couldn't believe how emotional I was acting, the more I worried the more emotional I became which just made me worry all the more, but I forced myself to calm down and breath slowly and deeply, following Neal's advice. "Right," I said, setting my shoulders and feeling more calm by the second as I forced myself to concentrate on breathing and just - talking. "Well, I wanted to tell all of you something, and I'm not sure how you will all react, but I can only hope that you won't be too angry. You are some of my best friends and I consider all of you to be family to me, and I never want to lose any of you because of something like this, but I knew from the moment I found out about your stupid bet that I just might. I also knew that there was nothing that I could do to prevent it, both the bet and possibly losing some or all of you, and I only hoped that you would all understand my thoughts and decision. Please try to understand," I added, hoping that it didn't seem too obvious that I was practically pleading with them to understand. I paused to take a deep breath, slowly letting it out in an attempt to calm my racing heart.

All of my Yamani training had deserted me in the last few days it seemed, especially in this moment when I needed it the most, and it unnerved me to be as emotional as I was.

"Please go on Kel, we won't be angry about what you have to say - I think," Neal said, frowning slightly. "Unless you tell us that don't care for any of us in that way and are repulsed by the very thought and you are now planning to run off and join a convent. In which case I think we - or at the very least I - will have to insist on checking you for any kind of meddling, magical or otherwise."

Everyone stared at him for a few moments unsure of what to say to that, only looking at him and wondering where he came up with these kinds of ideas.

"No Neal," I said. I most certainly am going to tell you that and then go running off to a convent, not when I've worked as hard as I have to get to the point that I am," I added, frowning at him.

"Good," he said with a straight face, nodding seriously. "Please continue then."

"Right . . . Well, when you all made your bet," I began after a short pause, "I already had begun to develop feelings for someone. Not at the time you made your bet, but before then. I . . . didn't know if he had ever thought of me in the same way, but I had to hope. When the bet was made and he was a part of it, you can only imagine how I felt. For days after I found out I asked myself over and over whether it could be true. I would continually ask myself,_ does he really have feelings for me?_, and _is he only participating because some of his closest friends are?_ Imagine my surprise when a few days later he began acting like a babbling idiot as he confessed having had feelings for me that he never acted upon out of fear of rejection! I know . . . that it really hasn't been long enough for me to really get a good impression of all of your feelings for me, but there are certain things that we all must think about. He also helped me to realize that the longer I kept my thoughts and wishes hidden, the more it would hurt everyone else in the end. I couldn't do that after thinking about that.I also know that all of you have spoken to me at one point or another privately, saying things along the same lines, but he really just seems right to me."

My eyes scanned the faces of the men before me before settling on one in particular. "Roald, if there I were anyone else I probably would have had heart failure finding that you had feelings for me, in fact I did somewhat when I realized at first that you were serious about the bet," I admitted, smiling at him playfully. "And while I am still in shock over that fact, and more flattered than you will ever know, I also know that I will never be good enough for you."

"Kel -" he tried to interrupt me, but I covered his mouth with my hand. stopping his arguments.

"You will be the King of Tortall one day," I said, lowering my hand back to my side, "and while I may be able to lead a group of men into a battle and get them out alive, that is all I can ever see myself as really doing. I would be horrible at running a country, I over think things and am too focused on the individual to focus on the mass as I would need to. And while you and many others might think differently about me being a good leader, when you think it over more carefully, you will realize that I speak the truth." I took the heir to the throne's hand in my own, squeezing it gently. "You need someone who can be your Queen Roald, and it isn't me. Find someone like your father did, who is not only a great and fearless warrior, but someone who is a true Queen. That person may not be as far as you think, all you need to do, is look."

Roald nodded, his forehead creased in a small frown despite his best efforts to give me an uncertain smile. "I knew that the odds of you falling for me knowing about everything that would come with it were small, but I do care about you Kel, and even if my chances were small, I had to give it a chance and my best try. It might have been a short effort, and I wish that I had more time to try to convince you, but if you have found someone to love and who loves you then I am happy for you, I would never want to jeopardize your happiness because I don't get what I want. My father has been trying to arrange another marriage with a princess from the Yamani Islands anyway, but I persuaded him not to push forward until I knew for sure what you would say."*****

I felt a bit - a lot really - guilty that Roald had gotten his father to put off arranging a marriage for him that would strengthen ties with the Islands because he wished to pursue the small hope that I would be that person to rule beside him. He seemed to have known that even in the short amount of time that he had let me in on his feelings that he would not be the person I'd choose in the end, which made me feel worse.

With a sigh I dropped down to sit beside Roald. "I - I don't want to do this," I mumbled, putting my head in my hands and letting my eyes fall partially closed. "I feel awful about all of this, knowing that only one person will walk away from this truly happy with the outcome . . . I wish that this was not so complicated, that I wasn't afraid of losing any of your friendship, but I am, and I can't help but think that we all would have been better off remaining oblivious."

A heavy hand dropped onto my shoulder, startling me into looking up directly into bright sapphire blue eyes. "I have something that I want to say before you go any further Kel," Dom said, holding my eyes for another moment before raising his eyes to look around at the others.

"Dom you don't have to say -"

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><p><strong>Look at that! 2 chapters in as many days! I hope you liked it and I also hope that you aren't all super upset about it not being Roald, and as for Dom . . . it may be what you think he's going to say, but maybe not.<strong>

**I feel slightly unsure whether anyone is liking the way this is going, I've had very little feedback so it makes me wonder whether I'm disappointing everyone. (Thank you to maka loves chocolateee for reviewing by the way! I was afraid it was going to be something bad but your review seriously made my day and in answer - maybe, I'm glad you think it's getting good, and no they won't I don't think I would be able to do that with the way I want this going, maybe one day, but I've never done anything too angsty so that may be a challenge I need to accept and try!)**

*** So, I decided to push back Shinko and Yuki and the entire Yamani marriage arrangement. A couple of people commented a while ago about that and so I wanted to clarify that while I won't say anything about Neal, Shinko and Roald will still have their marriage. It's after the 1st princess' death and my way of thinking was that Jonathan was hesitant to rush into a new marriage arrangement so soon after her death. He still wants to arrange a marriage but Roald convinced him to wait just a while longer. Make sense?**

**Please review! If you do then you'll for sure find out what Dom is going to say sooner than if you don't!**


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